35 | Fight

Her attempts were in vain, his strong hand wrapping around her neck, effortlessly lifting her off the ground.

She frantically clawed at his hand, gasping for air. Mustering as much confidence and bravery as she could, she managed to wheeze out, "you don't have to do this."

Something in his eyes flickered, but his eyes clouded back over in a matter of seconds. Still, that was enough to prove to her that he was fighting whatever was controlling him.

His eyes locked onto hers. His voice creaked out of him, rusty with disguise. "I wish that were true."

BANG!

In a fit of coughs, Sophie was dropped to the ground.

The one loud bang was followed by countless others- gunfire. She ducked for cover, peeking through her fingers to see Cillian had been shot. The culprit?

"Carlos!?" She exclaimed, screaming as she was hauled up and over his shoulder. "You just shot my husband!"

"Please, he's a lycanthrope. It's gonna take a lot more than a bullet to the shoulder to kill him." He scoffed. Once that were at a safer distance, he set her down. "I think what you mean to say is, 'oh wonderful and handsome Carlos! Thank you so much for saving my life!' Gosh, you're so ungrateful."

"You... you son of a-"

"Was 'wonderful' asking for too much?"

Before Sophie could rip him a new one, the thudding of footsteps sounded behind them. "Soph, you okay? Are you hurt?-" Sully's anxious rambling was cut off by the sound of rapid gunfire.

Everyone ducked and both men shielded Sophie with their own bodies. "This way! We'll be safer over there!" Carlos shouted over the horrendous noise, quickly guiding the pair into the woods to take refuge behind a fallen tree.

Sophie nearly screamed as a bullet zipped by her head, hitting the tree behind her. "I thought you said we were safe!" She screamed, slouching down even more behind the tree.

"No? Do you even listen to me? I said we were safer, not safe." Carlos sassed with a roll of his eyes. "And honestly, this is going better than I thought it would."

"What are you talking about?" Sophie exasperated, her eyes wide. "We're basically being held at gunpoint!"

"Well, yes, but they haven't shot us yet, have they?" He resorted.

Sully rolled his eyes and leaned closer to his sister in law. "You alright?"

"I'm okay." She nodded and asked both of the men. "But Carlos? Really?"

"If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have known where to look for you." Sully explained, but in a tone of voice that sounded disappointed.

She looked over at the man, a smug look on his face.

With a sigh, she exasperated, "Please tell me you guys have a plan to get out of here?"

Sully blinked.

"We're gonna die." Sophie faceplamed.

"Don't say that." Sully tsked, adamantly. "Someone's gotta have a plan, right?"

"Actually, I have a plan." Carlos piped up.

"Is it a good one?" Sully asked.

"I have a plan." He repeated.

"We're definitely dead." Sophie stated more confidently now. She could practically hear Sully's eye roll.

"Hey, have I ever put you in a dangerous situation?" Carlos asked, defensively.

"When have you not?" Sophie exclaimed.

"Then you should be used to it!"

"Hear him out. What's the plan?"

"Well, it mainly involves not dying." Carlos began, clearing his throat. "The big bad wolf here is gonna hate it, but if we wanna get out of here alive-"

"Just tell us the plan, Garcia!" Sully shouted as another bullet got too close for comfort.

"We use Sophie as bait."

"Never mind! Nope! Not happening!" Sully cut him off. No way she was getting in the middle of all of this.

"Hear him out." Sophie mocked his previous comment.

"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, we use her as bait." He explained. "We'll hide, leave her in the open, wait for Cillian to come around, then next thing they know, BAM! We'll surround them and take the newlyweds home."

"Sure, sure. That's a great idea! I was just gonna recommend throwing ourselves off the nearest cliff and saving them the trouble of killing us, but you're spot on with that one!" Sully sarcastically spat. "If you haven't noticed, we are severely outgunned and-"

"I'll do it."

Sully's head whipped around to face Sophie so fast, she was surprised he didn't get whiplash. "Like hell you are!"

"Sully-"

"No. There's gotta be another way. You don't need to get in the middle of all this."

"No just-"

"No! You have zero fighting skills, you're so small I bet a gust of wind could take you out, and after today, you and my mom could be the only family Cillian has left." He ranted rather urgently, all of his anxious thoughts coming out all at once.

She shook her head, placing a hand on his arm. "I appreciate you looking out for me and Cillian, I really do. But we're all going to be able to go home after this, okay?" He was about to protest further but Sophie stopped him before he could. "This is my choice. This is one I need to make. I'll be okay, I promise."

She could practically see the inner conflict he was having, the wheels turning in his head. He laid a hand on top of hers and said, "Be safe, okay? I don't know anything about human women and I'm going to need you to teach me after this."

She laughed, giving his arm a squeeze. "Darcy is a feisty one, you'll need all the help you can get."

They discussed their plan a few minutes more and Sully handed her a small ear piece. "You need help, press this button to speak into the comms. There's multiple people on, so don't say anything stupid like numb nuts over here."

Carlos threw his hands up in the air in the upmost distress. "All I wanted to know is if we had time to stop at a drive through on the way here, that's it!"

She ignored him and turned to Sully, a serious expression on her face. "I want you to promise me something. If I die tonight.... donate all more organs to those in need... except for my middle finger. Save that for Carlos, okay?"

He huffed a laugh. "You're not gonna die, but just in case..."

"And don't forget," Carlos chimed in, handing her a gun. "If someone gets too nosy, just... you know... shoot 'em."

"Shoot them?"

"Politely." He confirmed.

"How would I-"

"Let's roll out!"

•••

"What do we got, guys?" She heard Sully's voice ring through the comms.

"They just keep coming. I lost sight of Cillian." One of the three Alphas from a different pack replied, grunting as he threw his punches and kicks.

"Does anyone have sight on him?"

"Negative."

"Soph, we'll find him. In the mean time, make your way to the middle of that field, but stay out of his line of sight." Sully directed. "Any minute now, there will be a jet landing by you. Run on it and once we find Cillian, I'm sure he will run in behind you. It's loaded with people from other packs, enough of us to ambush him, restrain him, and bring him home."

"Where did you guys get a jet?" Sophie exasperated.

"Don't worry about it."

Before she could even process what was happening, she was backed up against a building, the comm ripped from her ear. He grabbed her roughly by the wrists before his grip gentled, like he was just barely restraining his fury. He was fighting himself.

She eyed his shoulder, oozing red from the gunshot wound, but he seemed unphased. Her eyes flickered up to meet his, wide and desperate. "Cillian," she gasped.

A deep growl rumbled in his chest, but he didn't make a move- conflicted.

"Listen to me- Rumlow is feeding you lies. You know I love you and I know you love me." She pleaded with him.

She felt him tremble- with restraint, with fear, she wasn't sure. He bared his teeth at her and she attempted to shove him away. Being that he was a lot bigger and stronger than her, he didn't budge. She tried one last time and used all the strength she could possibly muster to shove him back. She managed to move him a tiny bit, enough to sweep by him. Once she was past him, she spun around to make sure he didn't follow.

A dark eyebrow quirked in amusement as he watched her. He prowled closer.

She backed away, spotting the plane circling around to pick her up in the distance. With no way to communicate with them anymore, her only chance was making it to the plane. With that, she ran as fast as she could. She knew he could catch up with her in mere seconds, but he didn't. With every step he took, he clutched his head in pain, desperately trying to stop himself.

Her heart lurched for him, but at the same time, it bought her enough time for the plane to land not too much farther from her. Unfortunately for her, time was ticking.

He pushed through the pain and reached out to grab her. She whirled around and pointed a gun to his head. Her hand trembled as she pressed it harder against his skull.

"Sophie?" He croaked, his eyebrows knitted together.

She shook her head. "No talking. Get on the plane."

He straightened, the position of the gun followed. "I'm sorry, I'm okay now. I would never hurt you."

"Prove it to me by getting on the plane." She whispered, her voice shaky.

"Soph-"

"Stop talking." She snapped.

"I've cared for you more then anyone else ever has."

"Yes." She didn't deny it.

"I'm me again." He told her, his eyes soft.

"You're lying."

"If you kill me, it will shatter you." His gaze hardened. "Even now it's hurting you, isn't it?"

Tears prickling her eyes, she rasped, "yes, it will... Yes, it is."

"You love me."

"I do."

In a blink of an eye, his look of desperation morphed into a look of insanity. "Do it then." He ordered, his jaw set.

She faltered.

He took a step towards her and pressed his forehead against the gun, making her flinch at the horrific sight. "Do it."

Her breathing quickened, her eyes were wide and horrified, but she said nothing.

"Do it!" He yelled and grabbed her hand that was holding the gun to press it harder against him.

She screamed and dropped the gun, mortified. She would never kill him, and he knew that.

He smiled down at her, wickedly amused. "You're not very good at playing the hero yet."

With one idea left, she took a step towards him. Then another. And another. Skin to skin contact was what broke him out of his trances when he had night terrors. He was covered nearly head to toe in tackle gear now, but she saw one small opportunity she had to take. "You're right," she admitted, tears welled up in her eyes. "And you know I'm not going to kill you either."

She couldn't grab his gloved hands, nor his clothes arms. The only skin that was accessible to touch was his face.

She ran to him, grabbed him by the face, and kissed him. He stiffened immediately and struggled under her grip. She didn't give up, though. She scrunched her eyes tighter and and moved deeper into the kiss, smiling as she felt him do the same.

Hesitantly, she pulled back to see if he was back. She opened her mouth to say something, but instead of words, a quiet whimper came out.

It was as if time itself stopped as she stared into his eyes... then her eyes fell to his hand that firmly held a knife, now imbedded into her side.

The knife met flesh, soft and pudgy, and made a squish as the tip of the blade sank deep enough to make her cry out. He looked her dead in the eye and twisted the blade in his hands, all the while sinking it deeper and deeper. Her skin was tearing to shreds as the knife rotated, the sound of her muscles and nerves being gouged grew louder. Then, without warning, he ripped it out of her.

She wanted to scream, but it was silent. She couldn't say anything. Soundlessly, she dropped to the ground, accepting her fate.

•••

Thank you so much for 158,000 reads! I'm sorry if this chapter seems so rushed :( I hope you enjoyed anyway!

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